


You Changed Your Hair

by Esmethewitch



Series: Tales of Rey Skywalker [2]
Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Anakin gives Rey bad romantic advice, Attempt at Humor, Awkward Flirting, Bisexual Disaster Rose Tico, Discussion of the cool but impractical hairstyles of Starwars, F/F, Fluff, Hugs, Kissing, Lack of Communication, Lesbian Rey, Love Confessions, Minor Body Image Issues, Rey Skywalker, Rose doesn't know how to take hints, Self-Esteem Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-09
Updated: 2019-02-09
Packaged: 2019-10-25 04:40:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17718224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Esmethewitch/pseuds/Esmethewitch
Summary: Rose doesn't know what to make of Rey. The Last Jedi gets tongue-tied around her and says the strangest things. Maybe it's because she feels sorry for her. Or maybe there's another reason for this behavior.





	You Changed Your Hair

“Rey, can you pass me the three-eighths gripley?” Rose crouched down on the ship’s floor, arms stretched out into the tangled web of wires normally hidden by the instrumentation panel. Her questing fingers found the damaged section. Her dark hair was starting to fall out of its ponytail, but alas, she only had two hands.

“Huh?” Rey blurted, jarred out of her daydreams by the question.

“The three-eighths gripley. It should be in the toolbox. First layer, in with the screwdrivers. It’s marked ‘⅜’ on the handle. “

Rose could hear clanking as Rey rummaged around. “Aha. Found it. Sorry, Rose. I’ve been out of it for a bit.”

Rey crawled to her and glanced over Rose’s shoulder. “Stars, that’s a mess.”

“I know. Can you use that to bevel the thin sheeting in the back? If you can do that, then I can reconnect these wires without worrying about interference there.”

“Alright.” They worked in amicable silence, squeezed together in front of the inconveniently small opening. Rose wasn’t sure if the times Rey gently bumped her hip and shoulder against her were due to their close quarters or ulterior motives on the other woman’s part. _It’s a coincidence. Stop making it into anything more with your wishful thinking._

Something was different about Rey these days. Rose couldn’t place it. After she came back from Ach-to, after fighting Snoke and Kylo Ren once more, she was quieter. Sadder. _Of course she’s like that. It’s a normal reaction to trauma._

The shift happened after an awkward morning a couple of months ago. Rey had gotten up early to train, neglecting breakfast. Rose decided to surprise her with a cup of caf and a roll. She crept into the room Rey had been allotted for lightsaber practice and stood there, entranced as Rey gracefully swung her humming lightsaber. It looked more like a dance than combat. The blue glow illuminated the dim room, and Rose couldn’t help but let her gaze linger on Rey’s muscular arms and slim hips, captivated by the strands of brown hair escaping from her buns. Rey noticed her and deactivated her lightsaber. “Oh, hello there.”

Rose made herself speak. “I brought you caf and a roll. Finn said he didn’t see you in the mess for breakfast.” She passed over the travel mug and the warm flaky roll wrapped in a napkin.

Rey’s face lit up as she sipped the caf and chewed the roll . “Thank you! I forget to eat sometimes and it’s not great. Are you an angel?”

“Am I a what?” Rose had never heard that word before.

“An angel. I’ve heard a friend of mine talk about them. They’re the most beautiful and kind creatures in the universe. They live on the moon of...Lego, I think.” Rey paused, grip on the cup tightening.

“Where’s that?” Rose asked.

Rey frowned and moved her lips. “Okay, not Lego. I actually don’t think that’s a moon. Maybe it was Iego. That sounds closer.”

“Iego sounds familiar, yes. Thanks for the flattering comparison, but I’m a human.” _Force, that was awkward. Rey looks like she regrets saying that. Maybe she’s trying to give me compliments because she feels sorry for me. She feels sorry for me because I lost Paige and have been going through a rough patch lately. I think she doesn’t really mean it._

Rose took a deep breath. “Well, I should go now. Dr. Kalonia wants me to look at one of the med-droids. Its prognosis for a patient with the common cold was ‘He’s lost the will to live’.”

“Okay. I hope you get that fixed soon. Thanks for the food and caf.”

“You’re welcome.”

For some reason, Rose didn’t scurry off to the medbay like she said she would. She paused just outside the door, and listened.

“I told you that line wouldn’t work,” Rey said to the seemingly empty air. “No, it wasn’t my delivery. It was just bad. Literally nobody knows what an angel is. I think you made them up.” There was a pause. “No, I can’t make her jewelry. She already has a necklace. Her sister gave it to her, I think. And I don’t know what a Japor Snippet is.” Rey sighed. “It’s a Force-damned miracle that you ever got laid.” The invisible person must have said something cutting to Rey, because there was a sharp intake of breath. “You’re right that there are a lot of things I’ve haven’t done, but I’ve never murdered a bunch of children either. I don’t need your advice anymore. Goodbye.”

Rose all but ran away. _Was that a conversation with Kylo Ren? Why would she ask him for advice on complimenting me? Is manipulating people with flattery some weird step towards the Dark Side?_ She decided she didn’t want to find out.

After that, Rose and Rey carefully avoided each other. Rey’s normally articulate speech turned into mumbles in her presence. She was only helping out with the mess behind the instrumentation panel of this falling-apart old dreadnought because Rose asked her to. _Why doesn’t she like me? What did I say? What did I do? I thought we were getting to be such good friends…_ Another thing was different too. She just hadn’t remarked on it yet. “You changed your hair!” Rose exclaimed. It was in one bun with the rest hanging loose, instead of its usual three.

“You finally noticed,” said Rey with a grin. Rose blushed. _Now she’s going to think I don’t care._

“I noticed earlier, I just didn’t say anything,” said Rose, digging her grave deeper. “Finn said he was worried because you usually do three. And you made that change after…” _After your unsatisfactory visit with Luke. After learning that you had no parents who missed you somewhere._

Rey sighed. “It’s not about that. Do you know how long it takes me to put my hair into three buns?”

“No.”

“About six times as long as it takes to do it in one. That’s because I have to sort of measure out my hair into three equal parts. If I’m sloppy and mess that up, it’ll look weird. And don’t get me started on what happens if I misplace a hair tie. Or the amount of hairspray I need to keep everything in place. I have no idea how Leia can do her hair and still get six to eight hours of sleep. This is easier. It keeps it out of my face and saves me time in the morning.”

“Ah. That makes sense.”

They worked some more. Rose decided to drop a hairstyling bombshell of her own. “I’m thinking of growing out my bangs.”

Rey nearly dropped the three-eighths gripley. “What? Why? It’s such a cute look on you.”

“There’s a war on. You don’t have time to do your hair in three buns, and I don’t have time to get my bangs trimmed every couple of weeks. I tried to do it myself once, but I couldn’t do it in a straight line. They looked kind of emo until Poe took pity on me and finished the job. Paige used to do it for me.” _Great, now I’m talking about my dead sister again. Don’t cry._

“I could help with the bangs. If you wanted me to, that is. I mean,” Rey stammered, “if you wanted to grow out your bangs, that’s totally fine. It’s your hair. I’m trying out a new look myself. It’ll probably look good.”

Rose tried to block out the mental image of Rey combing out her hair, clipping her bangs, cupping her face in her hands, brushing a finger over her trembling lips and gently pushing her chin up, adjusting her to an optimal angle for… _No, no, no. I value our friendship and she’s probably straight._ She coughed. “Thanks for offering, but I think I’ll grow them out. It will be nice not to have them overgrown and getting in my face anymore. And I’ve had bangs ever since I was six. I think it’s time for something different.”

“Yeah, I get that.”

They screwed the panel back on and put away the tools. The problem with being outgoing and bisexual, Rose reflected, was that she found herself developing crushes on everyone. She had a crush on Poe for the ten whole minutes she was unaware that he was gay. It became obvious after that. She fell hard for Finn, and then she had to be told that he too was gay. “I like you a lot, Rose,” Finn told her. “If I were into girls, I’d definitely date you. I’m sorry. You’ll find someone. I know it.” One night, alone, in a moment of extreme loneliness and sleep deprivation, she examined her feelings for _General pfassking Leia Organa_ in more depth than she should have. Her saving grace was the fact that she was too anxious to seriously act on any of her crushes. She kissed Finn because she thought they were both going to die.

“I talked with Kylo through the Force last night,” said Rey, apropos of nothing. They walked down the corridor, heading towards the mess hall. “I try to block him out and talk to the ghost of Anakin instead most of the time, but he got through.” _Rey talks to ghosts? Maybe it wasn’t Kylo on that morning._

“What did he say? Did he try to turn you to the Dark Side again?” She tried to read Rey’s expression. She seemed faintly amused.

“Yes. The usual ‘quash the Light within you and rule the Galaxy by my side as my Dread Empress’ spiel. I told him no, like always. I also said that we’re probably related. I mean, we are. I swabbed Luke’s cheek while he slept one night and had a DNA test done. Luke isn’t my father, but he’s the only person I have any significant genetic overlap with. Leia volunteered and took the test too, as you know, but any similarities between my genome and hers could be explained by the fact that Luke and Leia are siblings. It seems I’m only directly related to Luke. I’m sort of like Anakin. He only had a mother, Shmi. The rest was the Force. Anakin confirmed that the story of his birth wasn’t a myth. He didn’t tell me how the Force creates children, but I have some ideas. It definitely took something from Luke.” She shuddered. “But I didn’t want to go into that with Kylo. Or tell him that the ghost of Anakin talks to me. I told him that his feelings for me were irrelevant because he’s a man and I’m gay. I figured that out kind of recently, but it explains a lot. I also told him that I had a crush on someone else. Someone single.”

“Did he believe you? I mean, he can read minds. ”

“I wasn’t lying.”

Rose opened her mouth to scream: “Who?”, but Rey’s commlink beeped. She picked it up.

“Leia?” She paused. “ You actually got it?! Yes, I can come over right away to look at the Jedi artifact your team of smugglers recovered. I hope it can actually neutralize Force powers. I have some ideas for how to test it. I’ll be right there.” The call ended. Rey put her commlink back in her pocket. “I’m sorry Rose, I have to go. I need to go look at this thing Leia’s team found. She’s been oddly secretive on what it actually is. I’ll fill you in when I get back.”

Rose was too stunned to do more than furiously nod. Rey dashed down the corridor towards Leia’s office. Rose shuffled to the mess hall. _Her crush is probably Connix from bridge crew,_ she told herself. _Kaydel is hotter than me. And single._ She got a cup of caf and slumped over it at an empty table. Despite what she let herself believe in her fantasies, she was nothing more than an extra in everyone else’s holodrama. Finn and Poe had each other. Rey had the Force and a destiny. And Rose? She just had grief and a mediocre body. She brought this up at her most recent physical, and Dr. Kalonia scolded her for it.

“You’re well within the range of healthy weights for someone of your age and height,” the older woman told her. “ Even if you lost a concerning amount of weight, that won’t change your bone structure and make your hips narrow. With the amount of physical training that you do, you’re fine. Appreciate your body for what it can do for you, not for how you think other people see it.”

This seemed hypocritical to Rose, for the doctor was still thin despite her years. She opened her mouth, but once again Kalonia beat her to it. “What people call ‘hot’ or ‘beautiful’ is subjective and arbitrary. Women with your body type are pin-up models on planets like Tatooine or Jakku. There’s a booming trade in those places for pills that allegedly cause weight gain. And on Coruscant or Naboo, other women starve themselves. Neither is healthy. Just appreciate what you’ve been given by taking care of yourself.” Rose nodded, and the lecture ended.

Alone, Rose slowly sipped her bitter caf and stared into the dregs. She heard footsteps. Rey stood in front of her. “Rose? Are you okay?”

“I’m _fine,_ ” she replied. “How were the ancient Force artifacts?”

Rey beamed. “There’s so much to learn about them! They look simple; just a bunch of stones. But they have kyber ore in them, and as you know kyber can conduct energy as well as the Force.” She glanced at Rose again. “Am I boring you?”

“No. I’m just really tired today.”

“I could tell you about it tomorrow instead, if you want.”

“That would be nice. I do have a question though; who do you have a crush on?”

Rey blushed. “It’s probably not reciprocated. I should let it go.”

 _Kaydel for sure,_ Rose told herself. Everyone admired her, but the Bridge crew officer held herself aloof from the rest.

“Well, you never know until you ask her,” Rose said. “The worst that can happen is she’ll say no, and that might make things awkward for a bit, but if you’re nice about it, she’ll at least feel good that somebody found her attractive.”

“I know, Rose. I just care about her a lot and don’t want to make things difficult between us. She’s pretty and she’s nice. People don’t notice her enough.”

“Come on! Who is it?”

“Alright. It’s you. I thought you’d pick up on it by now.”

There was a moment of stunned silence. “If you don’t want that, it’s okay,” Rey said, tears welling up in her eyes. “I understand.”

“I just have a question,” Rose said.

“What?”

“Who told you to ask me if I was an angel?”

Rey trembled slightly. “Anakin. He said it worked for him. I was skeptical. But he’s the only Force-ghost I know who ever had a relationship, so I thought he’d know.”

Rose smiled. “Good. I overheard some of your conversation and I was worried you were discussing me with Kylo for a bit. I’ve had a crush on you for a long time too, Rey.”

Rey laughed nervously. “I’m so happy you feel that way too. I’d never ask _Kylo_ for romantic advice. As far as I can tell, he’s never even kissed anyone.”

“I’m not surprised,” Rose said. “Can...can I hug you? And if you want, I’d like to kiss you too.” She blushed. What Rey saw in her, she didn’t know.

“Yes, to the hug and the kiss.” They embraced slowly, Rose gently brushing her lips against Rey’s. They deepened it, then Rey winced when their teeth clicked against each other. Kissing was a lovely symbolic gesture, but overrated in practice. By unspoken agreement, they decided hugs were better. Rose rested her head against Rey’s shoulder.

“Thank you,” said Rey. “For asking to touch me. That means a lot.”

“You’re welcome,” Rose said. _I don’t know everything she’s been through, but we’ll go slowly. And talk. She’s not nothing. She’s a beautiful goddess of motion and destruction. Best of all, she_ likes _me._

**Author's Note:**

> I stole the tool name "three-eighths gripley" from Terry Pratchett.


End file.
